The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno- Garcia
Gothic Historical Fantasy/Horror
July 16, 2025– Del Rey
ARC

Review by Angela

Once again Silvia Moreno Garcia hits it out of the park with this dark, witchy tale told in three alternate timelines that intersect in a thrilling climax.

1908 Mexico- Alba is a young woman living on her family’s farm, mourning the death of her father and doing her best to help her mother with the younger children, when her uncle comes to visit. After the disappearance of her brother and the mutilation and death of animals around the farm she comes to realizes her family has been cursed by a witch. Her mother and uncle won’t believe such nonsense, but her friend and would be suitor, Valentin, promises to help her.

1934 Massachusetts- Beatrice Tremblay is a college student and budding horror writer living in the dorms during the great depression. The disappearance of her college roommate Virigina Somerset, who was affectionally called Ginny, will cast a shadow over the rest of her life and inspire her most famous work, The Vanishing.

1998 Massachusetts- Minerva, Alba’s great granddaughter, and college student at the same university as Beatrice is working on her thesis. Focusing on Beatrice Tremblay’s work and unfinished manuscript, she immerses herself in her research and seeks the help of one of Beatrice and Ginny’s college friends Carolyn, hoping to read through Beatrice’s papers and writings.

As Minerva dives deep into Beatrice’s unfinished manuscript and personal papers, she is sucked into the events of 1934, and the disappearance of Ginny. She soon realizes that the evil that permeated Ginny’s last days has never really left and as she puts the pieces together of what really happened the night she vanished, her life might be in danger as well.

I might have mentioned, I LOVE storytelling with alternate timelines. I feel like jumping from one time period and narrator to the next holds my attention and amps up my desire to see how they all converge at the end. It really works here, even with three different time periods and POVs. Just when you feel like you are getting answers to what’s going on with Alba, Minverva jumps in with more research and falls deep into 1934 and Beatrice’s POV. This is a dark, slow-moving, but captivating tale that kept me turning pages. Highly recommend for fans of historical fantasy and horror.

Final grade- B+

Favorite Quote:

“Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches.”